San Diego Padres steal the series in a nail-biter against the Phillies

The San Diego Padres won a close game in Philadelphia thanks to some clutch performances by Austin Hedges, Luis Urías, and Kirby Yates.

Tally another series in the win column as the San Diego Padres took the rubber match against the Philadelphia Phillies on a steamy Sunday afternoon.

While the Friars dug themselves into another early hole, they fought back from a deficit and a blown lead with a pair of home runs and a stellar relief performance.

Of all the potential heroes of the game, this one has to go to Austin Hedges, who celebrated his birthday by going 4-for-4 with the go-ahead home run. He’s had a rough season thus far, batting an awful .183/.245/.321 coming into this game. With Francisco Mejía riding a hot streak, Hedges has taken a backseat in the catchers position as of late.

Not today. He was the bone fide star as his solo shot put the Padres up 3-2 in the seventh inning, a lead they’d carry to the end.

Luis Urías also continued to rake offensively, going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in the third inning that put the Friars ahead 2-1 at the time. He’s been crushing the box recently, hitting .319/.418/.447 in his last 15 games.

The Padres had reinstated faith in the young prospect by recalling him for the second time this season after a terrible start. Hopefully he’s only just begun to prove them right.

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Meanwhile, the pitching had some ups and downs today but the crew got the job done.

Joey Lucchesi had another rough start, tossing 28 pitches in the first inning and allowing an RBI double to Jean Segura. The Padres have struggled with early pitching, giving up a run in the first inning in three of their last six games coming into this tilt.

He settled down for the most part, finishing the afternoon with six innings pitched and two earned runs, striking out four batters and walking two.

The pitching award definitely goes to Kirby Yates though, who had a difficult outing but still managed to earn the save.

The Phillies didn’t make it easy — they forced 27 pitches out of the closer just to strike out the side — but he came up clutch as usual and notched the save.

Yates now has a seriously impressive 1.08 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, allowing just a 1.79 batting average to opposing batters.

The Padres will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Cincinnati to face the Reds. Sitting at 58-65 and 7.5 games back from the wild card, their playoff hopes look like just a flicker from where they stand.

Nevertheless, the Friars are 6-4 in their last 10 and will carry a two-game streak into the Great American Ball Park. Who knows; crazier things have happened.

For complete coverage of the San Diego Padres 2019 season, be sure to visit Friars on Base all season long.